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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · kid · race · vault · fan · bore · bat · ground

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. ground — a position
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. season — of the year
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bore — to drill
  9. vault — a safe
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. race — a contest
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. season — in sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. kid — child
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ground — the earth
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com